Just the Beginning
by Agent R
Summary: It's the day of Duncan and Amanda's wedding, but instead of celebrating, they deal with a wrench that was thrown in their plans at the last minute...Hope you enjoy.
1. Default Chapter

Just the Beginning  
  
(sorry for the delay, I've had my hands full with numerous projects and have had trouble getting around to this one...hope you enjoy)  
  
"Well Richie...tomorrow's the big day," Amber circled the 21st on the calender.  
  
"You mean tomorrow night," Richie corrected her.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Mac and Amanda are getting married tomorrow NIGHT," Richie explained.  
  
"You mean I've been starving myself for a week when I could've waited an extra half a day, just so I can fit into that stupid dress Amanda picked out for me?" Amber asked.  
  
"Well, tomorrow night, it'll be over," Richie said.  
  
"Wrong Richie, tomorrow's just the beginning, tomorrow, Mac and Amanda are getting married...and that's just the beginning of it...thank goodness Immortals are barren, otherwise they'd really be in for it," Amber replied.  
  
"Well, let's get some sleep, tomorrow night's going to be a busy night," Richie said.  
  
"Yeah, whatever..." Amber held her pelvis.  
  
"Something wrong?" Richie asked.  
  
"My side hurts," Amber said.  
  
"What do you mean your side?" Richie asked.  
  
"I mean in between my left hip and my vagina, to me, that's considered a side, now come on, let's get to bed," Amber said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"I can't believe that tomorrow night, we're going to be married Duncan," Amanda said.  
  
"Thank God for that...I've been waiting well over 100 years to see this happen," Duncan said, "quite frankly, I'm getting tired of waiting."  
  
"Well, 20 more hours shouldn't kill you, you've managed to wait this long," Amanda told him.  
  
"What I want to know is what's going to happen after the wedding," Duncan said.  
  
"You know what's going to happen after the wedding," Amanda laughed.  
  
"I mean after that," Duncan said.  
  
"After that you smoke a cigarette," Amanda added.  
  
"I mean after THAT, I mean after the wedding, after the honeymoon, after we spend so much time sexed up, our hormones drop 50 feet below ground zero," Duncan said, "I mean what's going to happen outside of the bedroom."  
  
"Calm down, I know what you mean, but whatever happens happens so I don't see any point in worrying about it," Amanda said.  
  
"I suppose you're right," Duncan said.  
  
"Goodnight," Amanda turned off the light.  
  
"Goodnight," Duncan repeated before he conked out.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Richie was out cold in his bed, and Amber seemed to be the same, until a few seconds later, she woke up, and jumped out of bed. Richie woke up when he heard what sounded like Amber taking the sheets off her bed, he was exhausted and muttered, "What are you doing?"  
  
But Amber didn't answer, and continued to take the sheets off her bed, Richie turned on the lights and saw Amber over by her bed, with several sheets bunched up, some areas of them were covered in fresh blood.  
  
"Amber..." Richie got up.  
  
"I swear, Richie, I don't know how this happened," Amber said.  
  
"Didn't you take biology?" Richie lightly joked.  
  
"Richie...whatever you do, don't tell Amanda, she'll never let us stay in the same room again," Amber said.  
  
"Don't tell me what?" Amanda walked in the doorway.  
  
It didn't take long for Amanda to spot the bloody sheets on Amber's bed, before she knew it, she was helping Amber put a new set of sheets on.  
  
"Amanda, I swear, I don't know how this happened, it's never been this heavy before," Amber said.  
  
"Well I wouldn't say it's anything to worry about...you're not pregnant, so we all know why you're bleeding," Richie muttered from his bed.  
  
"Be quiet, Richie, this doesn't concern you," Amanda said, "I'm going to put these sheets in the wash before the blood dries, you just see if you can get through the night without it happening again."  
  
With that, Amanda left the room, Amber got back in bed embarrassed by what had just happened.  
  
"Hey kid," Richie muttered.  
  
"What?" Amber asked.  
  
"Don't worry...as long as Amanda doesn't say anything, which she won't, your secret's between you, me, and the bed on the other side of the room," Richie laughed.  
  
"Shutup and go to sleep," Amber said.  
  
"Fine," Richie grunted.  
  
A few seconds later, Richie woke up again when Amber muttered his name.  
  
"...Richie..."  
  
"What?" Richie asked with his head buried under a pillow.  
  
"Do you think Mac and Amanda will have us moved to different rooms?" Amber asked.  
  
"What?" Richie took his head out from under the pillow.  
  
Amber jumped out of bed and went over Richie.  
  
"After what just happened...which hasn't happened before...do you think they'll try and move us to different bedrooms?" Amber asked.  
  
"I think you're being paranoid, now go to sleep!" Richie replied.  
  
"But Richie," Amber tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"What?" Richie asked, tired and angry.  
  
"Think about it, everything changes after marriage, everyone's lives change, the wife's appearance obviously change...and sometimes there's an ultimatum between family members, what if they decide to move us to separate rooms after the wedding?" Amber asked.  
  
"Again...I think you're paranoid...they wouldn't do that...you're forgetting what happened when you first started living with us...that was a lot worse than what just happened...we still kept you...now go to sleep!" Richie said.  
  
"Richie...I don't like the idea of being moved to separate rooms, I like it here with you...that way when one of us has a problem, the other's right here to complain to," Amber said.  
  
"And you've been doing a lot of that lately...now go to bed!" Richie shrieked.  
  
Richie threw a pillow over his head again in hope of getting some rest, Amber quietly went back to her bed and as she climbed in, she thought for a minute, "Richie..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You can be as mean as you want, I'd still rather have you for a roommate than be here myself," Amber said.  
  
Richie took his head out from under the pillow and looked over at Amber, who was already asleep.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Richie woke up with his eyes hurting because of the light, his head hurt, his throat hurt, and his stomach was doing jumping jacks on him, on top of that, he was too weak to fully wake up, he plopped back down in bed and moaned. He slightly opened his eyes and looked over at Amber, who seemed to be just as miserable as he was.  
  
"Amber....Amber," he growled barely above a whisper.  
  
"What?" Amber replied in the same tone.  
  
"How do you feel?" Richie asked.  
  
"Keep your ears open long enough and you'll know," Amber quickly got up in bed.  
  
"What?" Richie asked, confused.  
  
Amber jumped out of bed, ran in the bathroom, closed the door and threw up in the sink.  
  
"Oh...that's what you mean," Richie moaned.  
  
Every few seconds, Amber's vomiting screams were raised a few octaves as she seemed to be pushing the limits of how much she could throw up, Amanda came in the bedroom when she heard Amber.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked.  
  
"I'm...sick," Amber slowly and nervously walked out of the bathroom.  
  
"Me too..." Richie rolled over in bed.  
  
Amanda helped Amber back into her bed, and went over to Richie's bed and felt his forehead, then tried with Amber.  
  
"Both of you are at normal temperature, I can't figure out what it is," Amanda said.  
  
"It's the flu," Amber muttered.  
  
"What?" Amanda asked.  
  
"The flu...not everyone gets a fever with it," Amber said.  
  
"Oh boy...I'm going to be right back, don't either of you go anywhere," Amanda said.  
  
"Why?" Richie asked, "where am I going?"  
  
Amanda left the room and went downstairs, leaving the two to moan in private.  
  
"I didn't think Immortals got the flu," Richie said.  
  
"I didn't think Immortals got a lot of things, but apparently I was wrong," Amber replied.  
  
"I don't get it, when did this start?" Richie asked.  
  
"Last night when I had that pain in my side...it must've meant I had the flu, and with you being in the same room....oh boy, here I go again," Amber kicked off the sheets and got up.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"They're what?" Duncan asked in disbelief.  
  
"Apparently they have the flu, they have everything, sore throats, upset stomachs, fatigue, come on, I'll show you," Amanda took Duncan by the arm and took him upstairs to their room.  
  
Duncan couldn't believe what he saw, the two troublemakers who last night were at each others' throats, were now in bed looking like a convincing act of the living dead. Duncan went over to Richie's bed and shook him to try and wake him, but he seemed pretty much out cold.  
  
"Richie....Richie," he shook him.  
  
Richie slowly opened his eyes which appeared to be beyond blood shot.  
  
"Ohhhh...." Duncan got up, "are you sure?" he asked Amanda.  
  
"I don't know, but it's the only thing I can think of that makes any sense," Amanda said.  
  
Duncan went over to Amber, hoping to have better luck with her, she slowly woke up and growled through her teeth, Duncan shot up and jumped back.  
  
"What are you doing?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Waiting for her head to spin around and stab herself with a crucifix," Duncan replied.  
  
"Duncan, it's not funny," Amanda said.  
  
"Well why are you so worried?" Duncan asked, still confused.  
  
"Can I talk to you outside?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Well I-" Duncan started.  
  
"Now," Amanda tugged on Duncan's ear.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Amanda took Duncan into their bedroom and started talking.  
  
"I don't know why I'm worried about them, I just am! Is it really that awful?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Awful...not really...crazy, yes," Duncan said.  
  
"Duncan...it must just be my female hormones acting up or something," Amanda said.  
  
"Amanda, you're over a thousand years old, by this age, we have NO hormones," Duncan said.  
  
"Shutup!" Amanda said, "Duncan...this isn't funny...we can't leave them here to go and get married tonight...we'll have to postpone the wedding...at least until they're better."  
  
"I say we drag them out in the street and shoot them....by the time they return, they should be able to make the wedding," Duncan said.  
  
"Duncan, can't you be serious for one minute?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I can...but I don't choose to be," Dunacn replied.  
  
Their conversation was drawn short when Methos entered the room.  
  
"What's with all the screaming? I have less trouble relaxing in Alcatraz...at least there, they limit talking to 3 minutes a day...except on weekends of course...what's going on?" Methos asked.  
  
"Take a look at Richie and Amber and you tell me," Amanda told him.  
  
Methos went into their room and had a look at the two of them. Amber looked good as dead to say the least, and Richie looked like he'd been dead for some time.  
  
"Well?" Amanda entered the room.  
  
"Well...all they seem to be missing is foaming at the mouth and a hunger for brains," Methos said.  
  
"Methos!"  
  
"Kidding, I'm kidding!" Methos said, "looks like the flu...although I must admit, I don't recall Immortals getting it...then again, these two nuts don't exactly define your normal Immortals..." Methos pondered what he just said, "Normal Immortals?" he asked himself, "Now there's an oxymoron."  
  
"And I'm just looking at a moron!" Duncan said.  
  
"Duncan, follow me, we have a few things to discuss," Amanda said.  
  
"But-"  
  
"Now!" Amanda jerked him out of the room.  
  
"Well...sounds to me like those two are married already...you 2 should be up and terrorizing the college again within a week if memory serves."  
  
Both of them looked miserable in their condition, there was no getting around it, Amber grabbed Methos by the collar of his shirt and pulled him close.  
  
"Methos...don't you have an anastethic or something that could knock us out for the worst of it?" Amber asked.  
  
It took Methos a few seconds to realize what Amber said, she asked him if he had a drug that he could use that would knock them out for the next 24 hours of it.  
  
"I certainly do."  
  
"Good," Amber sat up.  
  
"But I don't choose to," Methos told her.  
  
"Why?" Richie asked.  
  
"Because, it's not something that's often used on a sick person...you two...well...should something go wrong, you'd both come back worse than you are now...and unfortunately, I'm currently living with you...so I don't think I want to risk it," Methos told them.  
  
"I don't believe this," Amber fell back down in bed, "uhoh."  
  
"What?" Richie asked.  
  
Amber jumped out of bed and ran back in the bathroom.  
  
"Do you really need to ask?" Methos asked.  
  
"I guess not," Richie turned over.  
  
"Don't stay on your side," Methos poked him.  
  
"What?" Richie asked.  
  
"Don't turn on your side, it makes the nausea worse...for now...unless you two want to be fighting over the bathroom...stay on your back!" Mehtos told him.  
  
It was just then that Methos realized what that comment sounded like.  
  
"Bad idea...bad idea," Methos added, "Just stay off your ribs until about 18 hours from now."  
  
"What time is it?" Richie asked.  
  
"8:15."  
  
"What am I going to be doing up after 2 in the morning?" Richie asked.  
  
"After 20+ hours asleep," Amber came out of the bathroom, "you'd be surprised what happens when your stomach finally settles."  
  
"And how are you?" Richie asked.  
  
"I give my stomach another hour at best before it starts up again..."  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Duncan, I don't care what you say, we can't go through with this, we can't get married while they're sick...you want Richie as the best man, and I wanted Amber as the bride's maid, and if that's how it's going to be, we have to wait until they're out of bed," Amanda said.  
  
"I know that...I just can't figure out how this could've happened...in all my years of being an Immortal, I've never seen this happen," Duncan said.  
  
"Never seen what happen?" Joe asked.  
  
"Have you seen Richie and Amber today? They're still in bed," Amanda said.  
  
"Please, I know those two, I don't go within three feet of that room without a cross," Joe replied, "so what's wrong with the Demolition Squad?"  
  
"They're sick," Amanda said.  
  
"In the head," Joe added.  
  
"No, I mean physically, the entire nine yards, headache, nausea, fatigue..." Amanda went into details.  
  
"It's the wedding," Joe said.  
  
"What?" Duncan asked.  
  
"The wedding...you had it planned for tonight, and they get sick today," Joe said, "seems a little too obvious to be coincidence...don't you think?"  
  
"Why would they do that?" Amanda asked, "they didn't seem to have a problem when they heard we were getting married."  
  
"Please...they're young, do you think they'd tell you if they had a problem with it? Young people...they keep it to themselves and debate on it by themselves...they're the only people the other one understands so it makes sense," Joe siad.  
  
"And since when are you so informative on the young and the restless?" Methos entered the kitchen.  
  
"Well?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Well what?" he asked.  
  
"How are they?" Amanda asked.  
  
"As good as can be expected right now...they're truly sick as dogs...although...for being somewhat out of their minds with illness, Amber seemed to have a half-way decent idea earlier...she asked me if it were possible to drug them unconscious for the next 24 hours," Methos said.  
  
"Surely you didn't say you would," Amanda said.  
  
"Don't worry, I told them about the risks...and don't call me Shirley," Methos said.  
  
"How do you like that? During something like this, he still has a sense of humor," Joe laughed.  
  
"Well someone has to...so what are you two discussing that's so amusing?" Methos asked.  
  
"We were discussing the wedding," Duncan said.  
  
"And?"  
  
"I don't think we should go on with it before they're over this," Amanda said.  
  
"Right, and why would that be?" Methos asked.  
  
"Because we already had it decided that Richie was to be the best man and Amber the bride's maid," Amanda explained.  
  
"And I was drafted as the minister, but now it looks like I'm going to be their nurse," Methos said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Richie had spent the last 5 minutes in the bathroom throwing up, he went back to his bed slowly and quietly, except for a little mumbling, and that was all that Amber needed to start a small conversation with him.  
  
"Richie..." she groaned.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"Right about now, how are you feeling?" Amber asked.  
  
"Like hell," Richie slowly replied, "you?"  
  
"Same."  
  
"....Amber..."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"What do you think this means for Mac and Amanda?" Richie asked.  
  
"I think they're going to continue with the wedding...they wouldn't cancel it on account of us being sick," Amber said, "I don't think......ugh...I think I'm going to be sick again."  
  
"Next time...don't talk so much, it gets your stomach going," Richie slightly laughed.  
  
"Shutup," Amber groaned.  
  
Richie laughed under his breath, for the first time in about an hour, he was glad he wasn't the one clogging the sink's pipes. At that time, Duncan and Methos came in the room and went over to his bed.  
  
"What's going on?" Richie asked, half asleep.  
  
Richie felt a set of cold hands grab him, the next thing he knew, he was wide awake, and getting jerked out of his bed.  
  
"Hey! What're you doing?" he asked, taking offense.  
  
"Nothing personal, kid, but you're getting moved," Methos told him.  
  
"What?" Richie asked.  
  
At that time, Amber came out of the bathroom, just in time to see Duncan and Methos carry Richie out of the room.  
  
"What're you doing?" she asked Methos.  
  
"We're getting ready to drop-kick a 60 pound sack of Idaho potatoes, what's it look like? We're moving him," Methos replied.  
  
"Why?" Amber asked.  
  
"We'll explain that later...get to bed!" Methos told her.  
  
Within a few seconds, they left the room, Amber couldn't believe it, she was right, they were getting moved out of the same room, she couldn't believe it.  
  
[Of all the rotten things to do...he couldn't have waited until I'm well enough to kick the crap out of him to do this...he has to do it when I'm sick as a dog and can't get up and do anything about it,] she thought as she crawled back into bed. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Put me down, Mac...put me down!" Richie groaned.  
  
"Suit yourself."  
  
Richie felt the 2 sets of hands let go and he dropped on a bed, he knew it was a bed because he heard the springs collapse when he dropped.  
  
"What's going on?" Richie asked.  
  
"Calm down and shutup," Methos said, "you've been moved to a different room."  
  
"I can see that...but why?" Richie asked.  
  
"We'll explain later...just shutup and go to sleep," Methos said.  
  
Richie pretended to go to sleep, when he heard the door close he got up and listened to Duncan and Methos in the hall.  
  
"I say you should."  
  
"And I told you we can't."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because it wouldn't be tolerated."  
  
"By whom?"  
  
"By me!"   
  
"Duncan, you said yourself you can't take them with you to get married now...why are you postponing the wedding?"  
  
"Because we agreed that we'd have them at the wedding with us...and we can't do that now that they're sick...which is something that I'm still trying to figure out!"  
  
Richie opened the door and stuck his head out in between the debating two.  
  
"Don't postpone it cuz of us, Mac...we'd only be more miserable for the next three weeks than we are now, if we were the reason you didn't get married when you planned...you two go on, get married, get drunk, do it till the cows come home, light a pack of cigarettes and oh boy, here I go again."  
  
Richie ran in the bathroom to throw up again....after having the sink faucet run at full blast for a few minutes, he start thinking, [how can I be throwing up this much when I got nothing to bring up?]  
  
Duncan and Methos went in the bathroom to see what was keeping him.  
  
"So...what's the verdict? You got something else to discuss?" Methos asked.  
  
Richie leaned over the sink and threw up again, "I'll take that as a yes," Methos said.  
  
"You want to go back to your room?" Duncan asked.  
  
"No!" Richie hesitantly replied, "I want to stay here so I won't have to worry about making it in here before I throw up next time!"   
  
Duncan could see that Richie was exhausted, tired, sick, and it looked to him like he was also on the verge of crying, so he knew that Richie was in no condition to start an argument with.  
  
"Allright, you stay here, I'll get some bedding from the closet," Duncan said.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" Methos said, "you stay here with the boy, I'll get the sheets."  
  
Methos grabbed Richie and handed him to Duncan before he left the bathroom.  
  
"Put me down Mac..." he muttered.  
  
"What?" Duncan asked.  
  
"I said put me down! Ohhhhhhh" Richie growled as he jumped back over to the sink again.  
  
"Don't get so excited...you'll only make yourself worse," Duncan said.  
  
"Mac," Richie grunted, "what is going on? What the hell is wrong with us?"  
  
"I don't know...but you have to stop getting excited for at least today...by tomorrow, your throat will be strained and your ribs will be killing you, and you'll find it rather difficult to talk because by then, the laryngitis will kick in...but at that time, you can try and scream all you want...understand?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"Did you mean it earlier when you said that we should go ahead with the wedding?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Yeah...sure," Richie replied winded, "if you don't...we'll be more miserable than we already are...besides...why wait on us to attend the wedding? We can attend when you renew your vows in 5 years...or whenever..."  
  
"Allright, it's obvious you're delierous, Richie, I want you to lie down and get some rest...Methos!"  
  
"Coming, I'm coming," Methos entered the bathroom with a pillow under one arm, and a sheet draped over the other, "it's not my fault everything in the closet collapsed on me when I opened the door."  
  
"Give me that!" Duncan rested Richie's head on the pillow and draped the sheet over him, "do you need anything else?"  
  
Richie shook his head.  
  
"Very well...come on Methos," Duncan headed for the door.  
  
"What I do now?" he asked.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"No, no, NO!" Methos said to Duncan, downstairs in the kitchen.  
  
"Why not?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Because...if you're getting married tonight, someone has to look after the two terrors, and it's going to be me...what you need, is an available priest," Methos told him.  
  
"Well," Duncan stood up, "I might know a few in town...I'll have to make some calls, although I think Amanda's going to be harder to convince than I am."  
  
"No problem, you call the father, and I'll talk to the wife," Methos said.  
  
But first Methos had to check on the 'terrors' before he went into a 3-hour discussion with Amanda...Richie was out cold on the bathroom floor, looking as good as could be expected, when he went to check on Amber, he found her in the bathroom throwing up in the sink again.  
  
"Are you allright?" he asked once she finally stopped.  
  
"I'm sick as a dog, I can't talk for more than a few seconds without throwing up, I can't swallow, I can barely stay awake, I can't sleep, and...Richie was taken out of the room just like I thought...no I'm not allright," Amber said before she threw up again.  
  
Somewhere in there, Methos heard something that he was sure was amiss, and he knew what it was.  
  
"You thought what?" he asked.  
  
He waited until she shut off the faucet to answer, "what?"  
  
"You said just like you thought...what did you think?"  
  
"Once they get married, they're gonna put us in different bedrooms just like I figured, everything changes after marriage, some for the better, and some for an obvious worse...and I don't like it, and it's turning out like I thought, only it's happened before the wedding," Amber turned around and threw up again.  
  
"Calm down," Methos patted her on the back, "get back into bed, and I'll talk to you when you can say more than 2 sentences without throwing up."  
  
After he was sure her stomach had stopped for the time being, he took her back in her room and helped her back into bed.  
  
Now that she was settled for the time being, he was going to see how well things would go over with Amanda. He found Amanda and took her to his room so he could try and see things eye to eye with her.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Methos...I ca....Duncan and I can't just go off and get married with those two sick, we just can't!" Amanda said.  
  
"Why not? I'm not going anywhere...I do believe I could keep an eye on them until the worst is over...besides...they already have enough of their minds...the last thing they need is wondering if you're still here all night," Methos explained.  
  
"But-" Amanda started.  
  
"They assured me that they couldn't care less if you go ahead and get married tonight, even though they cannot attend. Now Duncan is talking to the Justice of the Peace...he should find out how soon he can get you two married, now quit worrying," Methos said.  
  
"But what about Joe?" Amanda asked.  
  
"What about him?" Methos asked, "he's not sick, he's not my kid, and he's not my father, I'm not to be held responsible for him or anything he does."  
  
"That's not what I mean, can you handle having two sick kids in this house AND Joe going down your throat for everything?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll be fine...if Joe starts at it with me, I'll just show him a picture of my ex-mother-in-law, that'll shut him up and make him go blind for a week, now go on, get!" Methos said.  
  
Methos rushed Amanda out of the room and closed the door, then he reached in his pocket and pulled out a photograph.  
  
"My ex-mother-in-law, the dear old bat," he gazed at the picture, "even the brief sight of her makes ME go blind for a week."  
  
Methos laughed and stuck the picture down in his coat, "-' save that one for later," he grinned.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Duncan had found a minister who could marry them soon, but in order to do that, they had to wait for him in a hotel where he was expected to show for another wedding earlier on in the evening...so Duncan and Amanda left to get to the hotel before they missed the minister, leaving Methos at the care of Richie and Amber, something Duncan was still kicking himself for.  
  
Once they reached the hotel and got a room, Duncan decided to call home and see how things were going on the warpath, Joe answered.  
  
"Hello, who's this?"  
  
"Joe, put Methos on."  
  
"Okay, one minute...METHOS!"  
  
Duncan pulled the receiver away from his ear.  
  
"Leave it to him to shatter my eardrums," he said.  
  
He heard someone take the receiver on the other end, "Hello?"  
  
"Methos, what's going on?"  
  
"Well Duncan, I'm not going to lie to you, this is ridiculous over here...I don't know why you wanted them moved to separate rooms for the time being, it's twice as much work to keep up with them...one of them's asleep, one of them's awake, one of them's throwing up, the other one's growling, one of them can't stop crying, and the other one's dead to the world, and neither one can figure out why they've been put in separate rooms...and quite frankly, I can't either...it's half a trip across the hall just to get to and back to one and the next...if this keeps up, I'm going to need rollerskates to make the routine checks on them," Methos said.  
  
"Well...let's just hope your feet can hold out until we get back," Duncan told him.  
  
"And when is that?" Methos asked.  
  
"Well we're not sure...and if we're lucky, we'll probably get back by around 2 in the morning," Duncan said.  
  
"2 IN THE-------Did you say 2 in the morning?" Methos asked.  
  
"Yes I did..."  
  
"Why is it going to take so long?" Methos asked.  
  
"Because the first wedding he's doing here is a shotgun wedding, the bride's already gone into labor, and they're waiting to see what the final verdict is before the ceremony starts," Duncan said.  
  
"Of all the---I don't believe this," Methos said.  
  
"Neither do I...so other than what you've just explained, how are things holding up there?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Oh allright I suppose...they've both finally conked out for a while so I can't complain about that...of course things are quiet, which means they'll be up in a while, so I better get ready for them...you and the soon-to-be misses have a good time there...if possible, take it nice and slow, try and maintain your sanity and I'll see you tomorrow," Methos hung up.  
  
"Hel------, hell," Duncan grunted.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"I feel like hell," Richie groaned, "what time is it?"  
  
"10 o' clock...you 2 fruitbats are getting screwier all the time...now you're both throwing up around the same time," Methos told him.  
  
"How long's it been since last time?" Richie asked.  
  
"About 4 hours...I think from here on out, if you can sleep for a few more hours, the nausea should be over," Methos said.  
  
"I should be so lucky...are Mac and Amanda back yet?"  
  
"No, and don't say anything for the rest of the night, or else you'll be throwing up again...goodnight kid..."  
  
Methos left the room and shut the door, Richie crawled back under the sheet and conked out, he was exhausted and hoped he'd be able to get through the rest of the night peacefully.  
  
Next Methos had to check on Amber which was something he did on routine now, surprisingly she seemed to be sleeping rather well, at least that's what he was able to make of it from the doorway. He left the room and went downstairs to the living room to relax for a while before they started up again. He was exhausted, he'd been on his feet for the last 9 hours, taking care of 2 sick Immortals, which was something he was still trying to figure out.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Methos woke up stiff in an armchair in the living room and realized it was after midnight, he went up to see what was going on with Richie and Amber. When he went in Amber's room, he was surprised to find she was still asleep, he went over to make sure she wasn't going to be running to the bathroom anytime soon, she seemed pretty much dead to the world...He poked at her a few times to make sure, she didn't even swat at him, then he felt her forehead, a fever had developed, he wasn't sure but he was estimating it was around 105. So then he got an idea, since Amber obviously wasn't reacting to hardly anything...she wouldn't put up much of a fight. He picked her up and carried her into the bathroom, drew a cold bath, undressed her and laid her in the tub...then the shock of the sudden cold water took effect.  
  
Amber shot up in the tub screaming, shocked and apparently incoherent, Methos grabbed her to calm her down.  
  
"Shutup will you? You're loud enough to wake the dead...I know," Methos said.  
  
"What's going on? Where am....hey!" Amber struggled to get loose, "why am I naked?"  
  
"Shutup and sit down!" he told her, "Look, I'm doing this as a favor to you, so don't claw my eyes out for looking."  
  
"What're you doing?" Amber asked.  
  
"You have a high temperature, coming in contact with cold water will bring in down," Methos said.  
  
"Methos, I think you're crazy...I'm freezing now and I was before you tried drowning me!" Amber said.  
  
"And I thought I was the naive one around here," Methos laughed, "kid...when you have a high temperature, you're going to be cold...that way, you draw more heat to your body, which the fever feeds on...making your more miserable than you are now..."  
  
"So by giving me pnuemonia you're helping me?" Amber asked.  
  
"Shutup and hold your breath..." Methos pushed Amber under the water, she immediately shot up after a few seconds.  
  
"I can say more than 2 sentences now...now how bout I get some answers...what time is it for one?" Amber asked.  
  
"A little after 1 in the morning," Methos said.  
  
"Allright...where's Richie?" Amber asked.  
  
"He was moved to a separate room," Methos said.  
  
"I know that...why?" Amber asked.  
  
"Duncan thought it would be easier for the two of you to rest...that way he figured one of you wouldn't be making the other sick...but I don't see it as any way of helping, I've been on my feet twice as much today, and neither of you have been able to get any rest," Methos explained.  
  
"Does Richie know?" Amber asked.  
  
"Yes...and the last I checked he was still asleep on the bathroom floor across the hall," Methos added.  
  
"Is he allright?"  
  
"Best that can be expected..."  
  
"Are Duncan and Amanda back yet?"  
  
"No...Duncan told me they probably won't return for another hour or so..."  
  
Methos pulled Amber out of the tub, wrapped her in a towel and laid her down on the sink's counter. He grabbed her again, but she snapped at him.  
  
"Don't touch me...don't touch me...just let me rest here a few minutes and be miserable," she groaned.  
  
"Suit yourself," he said.  
  
Amber laid still where she was until she finally fell asleep.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Amber woke up and shot up and saw that she was still in the bathroom, it took her a few minutes to remember what had happened, it was then that she realized she was no longer wearing a towel, but a shirt and jeans. She looked over to the side and saw Methos giving Richie pretty much the same treatment in the bathtub he did her earlier, Richie was muttering a bunch of stuff in between getting dunked in the cold water. Methos looked over and saw Amber was up.  
  
"I see you're awake so I'll let you two talk in private," he said.  
  
Methos got up and left the room, Amber climbed off the counter and went over to the tub...  
  
"HEY RICHIE!" she cheerfully muttered.  
  
"What the-!?" Richie turned around, "Oh...hello."  
  
"How are you?" Amber asked.  
  
"Tired and miserable...other than that, I'm okay, you?"  
  
"Fine...now that I know why we were put in different rooms...and considering it's only temporary...what're you doing in here?" Amber asked.  
  
"I'm guessing same reason you were in here an hour ago," Richie replied.  
  
It was then that Richie remembered that he was naked, he panicked and immediately grabbed a towel.  
  
"Oh come on Richie...stop being such a baby, you don't have anything I haven't seen on you before...you or any other man," Amber said.  
  
"How many have you seen naked?" Richie asked.  
  
"In all honesty...3...you, Mac and Mario...none of which have been a pleasure to see though...but that's just my opinion," Amber replied.  
  
"And everyone's entitled to them," Richie said.  
  
"How do you think the wedding went?" Amber asked.  
  
"I don't know, Mac and Amanda aren't back yet," Richie replied.  
  
"They're not? That's a fine thing...they wanted to start their honeymoon early, they could've come back here and done it, I wouldn't say anything," Amber said.  
  
"Well what would there be to say?" Richie asked.  
  
"How bout a little pounding on the wall and adding 'knock it off you two! I'm trying to sleep!', something like that...Let's face it, when you're first married, sex is interesting, exciting, spontaneous, but then after how long Mac and Amanda have been sleeping together, it is what it is, so there wouldn't be much to it," Amber said.  
  
Richie gripped his towel and wrapped it around his lower body and got out of the tub.  
  
"What're you doing?" Amber asked.  
  
"Going to my room before I get pnuemonia, this water's getting too cold for me," he said.  
  
"I hear that...come on, let's get going before they drag us off to different parts of the house again," Amber said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
3:12 AM, Duncan and Amber came running in the front door screaming for everyone, but when only Joe and Methos came, he had to ask...  
  
"Where's Richie and Amber?"   
  
"Upstairs in their room," Methos said.  
  
"Asleep?" Amanda asked.  
  
"What do I look like? Their nanny? I don't know what they're doing, the last I checked on them was about an hour ago, go see for yourselves!" Methos said.  
  
Duncan and Amanda headed upstairs into their room and found the two of them playing poker.  
  
"Full house," Richie laid down his cards.  
  
"Royal flush," Amber laid down her cards, "you know how it goes Richie...no mercy, so pay up."  
  
"Okay, okay...."  
  
Richie sat up and started to unbutton his shirt, Duncan quickly put an end to that.  
  
"Richie...what in the hell are you doing?" Duncan asked.  
  
"He's losing, it's strip poker, cut throat, to the point, payment up front," Amber said.  
  
"I know that!" Duncan said, "I mean what are you two doing up at 3 in the morning?"  
  
"What do you want? We've been asleep for the last 20+ hours...we're bored out of our minds...besides that...we want to know, how was the wedding?"  
  
"Well that's something we weren't going to tell you just yet but..." Amanda said.  
  
"What happened?" Amber asked. 


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't believe this, I just don't believe this," Amber said, "how could this happen? How could you do this?"  
  
"What were we going to do, Amber?" Amanda asked, "we couldn't stand the thought of getting married without you two there with us..."  
  
"So rather than just go ahead with it, you don't get married?" Amber said while pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed, "Wait a minute. wait a minute...HOLD EVERYTHING! What in the world were you doing at that hotel for over 10 hours?"  
  
"First we were trying to decide what to do about the wedding...then when we decided not to get married, we stayed down there long enough so you'd think we did, so when we came back, you wouldn't think something was wrong," Duncan said.  
  
"I don't get it, why didn't you just tell us?" Richie asked.  
  
"Because we didn't want to upset you when we first got back," Amanda said.  
  
"Well next time upset me," Amber said as she continued pacing, "I can't believe this...this is just unbelievable, why couldn't you just go through with the wedding?"  
  
"We already told you," Amanda said, "you wanted an explanation, and you got one."  
  
"Well this time, try one that's actually good," Amber said.  
  
"Amber, what is the big deal? You weren't feeling well, and we didn't want you to be miserable because you missed the wedding," Amanda said.  
  
"So instead you make us miserable by not even getting married, after I told you to go ahead and do it, and don't even think about us!" Richie replied.  
  
"I don't know what to tell you Richie, other than we wanted to wait until you were well enough to attend," Amanda said.  
  
"I don't believe this," Amber said, "I just don't believe this...you couldn't even go ahead and do what we asked you, why couldn't you just do what you were told?"   
  
"I know you want an explanation, we just don't have one," Amanda said.  
  
"Well that's not good enough," Amber said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"I have the strangest sense of deja vu, what about you, Duncan?" Amanda asked later when they were in bed.  
  
"Oh I don't know...what I want to know is where they come off being so mature," Duncan replied.  
  
"I know, all of a sudden, it's like they're the adults of this house, and we're the kids...they're acting like we did something stupid like..."  
  
"Like something they would do, and if they had, we would be the ones giving them the same reaction they did us," Duncan added.  
  
Then Amanda thought of something, she turned over to face Duncan, "Did Richie ever do anything when he was younger that you would've acted even somewhat like that?"  
  
"Oh a few," Duncan remembered, "sneaking out after curfew, getting drunk, once he almost got himself and 3 other teenagers killed...but I don't think I ever acted like he did earlier."  
  
"It's unbelievable, it's like we did something horrible to them at some point, and they're treating us like a couple of teenaged prisoners just to show us how awful we were," Amanda said.  
  
"Maybe, but I don't think waiting until they can attend the wedding to get married would call for something like this," Duncan said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"I just can't believe they went and did something like this Richie...didn't you tell them not to worry about us, and go ahead with the wedding?" Amber asked.  
  
"If memory serves, I managed to get that out before I threw up, so yeah, I told them," Richie said.  
  
"How could they be so irresponsible, so careless, so----------oh no, it's happening!" Amber said.  
  
"What?" Richie asked.  
  
"I'm becoming my grandmother," Amber said.  
  
"Huh?" Richie asked.  
  
"When I was little, I used to get sent to my grandmother's sometimes to be with her...the town she lived in was where it was real easy to get in trouble...which was something I often took advantage of...sometimes she'd find out, sometimes she wouldn't, but when she did...and this....this is the exact same way she acted whenever I screwed up," Amber said.  
  
"Your grandmother? That's more of how one of my foster-father's used to act," Richie said.  
  
Amber fell off the foot of the bed laughing when she heard that, "sounds like your foster pop was real fenimine."  
  
"I think you mean feminine," Richie said.  
  
"What'd I say?" Amber stood up, "so, what are we going to do about those two?"  
  
"Are you up for attending a wedding anytime soon?" Richie asked.  
  
"Sure...how bout-----I get it, you're saying we should fake being healthy and have them go ahead with the wedding," Amber said.  
  
"I think it's the only way it'll get done," Richie said.  
  
"Well...I've been throwing up enough, I should be able to fit into that ugly garment Amanda got for the bride's maid....you sure you don't wanna trade it for your monkey suit?" Amber asked.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Did you get any sleep last night?" Amanda asked early the next morning, "I feel like I got hit by a semi."  
  
"I got about an hour's worth," Duncan groaned, "and the whole time, I had this crazy dream that we finally got married, and then those two knuckleheads got some crazy idea that we were getting divorced, so they locked us in the basement."  
  
"We have to stop watching those parenting movies," Amanda laughed, "so, what do you think we should do?"  
  
"Honestly...I think we should go ahead with the wedding whenever they're ready," Duncan said.  
  
"You're really bending over backwards for them, aren't you Duncan?" Amanda asked.  
  
"You wanted them to stay here with us...what'd you expect? Richie I've known for years, he's basically akin, and Amber...well she seems to be the only teenaged girl who likes Richie and he doesn't have to worry about her parents chasing him with a shotgun...I guess they've really grown on me," Duncan said.  
  
"Like a wart," Amanda added.  
  
"Well I think we should go ahead with the wedding when they give the word," Duncan said.  
  
"Fine, what's the word?" Amber asked as she and Richie came down the backstairs.  
  
"How long were you two listening?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Long enough to know that Mac isn't that limber," Richie laughed.  
  
"Well, now that you two know what we think, what's the verdict?" Duncan asked.  
  
"How soon can you get an ecclesiastical dumdum up here?" Amber asked.  
  
"We already have one," Duncan replied, "Methos, did you forget him?"  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"I can't say that I understand what you two were thinking last night, but I suppose now is as good a time as any to fix that problem," Methos said as he fidgeted with his bowtie.  
  
"Well, it was either that, or we get a tongue lashing by those two for the next three weeks," Duncan said.  
  
"Allright, allright, let's go and get this wedding over with," Methos said.  
  
Across the hall, Richie and Amber were pretty much on the same idea.  
  
"I don't believe this...first Amanda makes me wear this stupid dress, now she's making me wear a slip underneath," Amber said.  
  
"A what?" Richie asked as he fidgeted with his collar.  
  
"A slip," Amber repeated.  
  
"A what?" Richie asked, clearly not knowing what it was.  
  
"I'll show you," Amber lifted her dress.  
  
"What the heck's that thing for?" Richie asked.  
  
"I don't know, I hardly ever wore a dress before in my life...I just don't see why I couldn't wear something comfortable, this sucks," Amber said.  
  
"Well to even the score, when they renew their vows, maybe you can pull off wearing a tuxedo, something basic, black," Richie said.  
  
"Richie...right now, I'd rather be wearing a bright orange tuxedo than this piece of junk...come on, let's go get this over with," Amber said.  
  
It was then that Amber realized Richie was staring at her.  
  
"What's the matter?" she asked, "Do I look green? Huh? Is my eye hanging from its socket?"  
  
"You don't look so good," Richie told her.  
  
"I'm 16 and I'm sick...what do you expect? Beatrice Arthur? Besides, you don't look so hot yourself, you look pale," Amber replied, "ask me...considering we've been sick, I say we look as good as can be expected, now come on, let's go get this over with."  
  
First they stopped for one last look in the mirror to make sure they were somewhat decent for the wedding, Amber was wearing a white fancy designer strapless dress and white 3-inch heels, Richie was wearing a black suit with a white shirt underneath, a brown striped vest over it under the jacket, a red flower on the breastpocket, a bowtie, and a tophat.  
  
"What do you think?" Richie asked.  
  
"I think the hat's too much," Amber took the hat off Richie's head, rammed her fist through the top and threw it in the trash, "allright, let's get this wedding under way...whoa!"  
  
Amber lost her balance and almost fell on the floor, except Richie was standing nearby and grabbed her, "what happened?"  
  
"I got winded...now come on, let's go, the sooner we show up, the sooner this wedding will be OVER," Amber said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Duncan MacLeod and Amanda Le Fevre in Holy matrimony..."  
  
As Methos started his speech as minister, he quickly noticed a problem with the bride's maid and the best man, they both seemed to be a bit dizzy, but since they weren't making any deal of it in the least, he continued...but he quickly came to an end when they collapsed and fell on the floor. Duncan helped Richie up and Amanda picked Amber up.  
  
"Are you allright?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Fine...fine...but when's the room stop spinning?" Richie asked.  
  
"I think you better set them down somewhere until they're needed, Duncan," Methos said.  
  
"Good idea," Amanda said.  
  
As Duncan put Richie down on a chair, Amanda tried to help Amber sit down, but she slapped Amanda's hand and warned her, "don't touch me, DON'T TOUCH ME! I can set myself down..."  
  
Amber stumbled over to her seat and rested beside Richie.  
  
"Are you two going to be okay?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Yeah, fine, fine," Richie opened the collar of his jacket, "go ahead with the wedding...."  
  
"If you insist," Amanda said.  
  
"Didn't you hear him? He said it's allright, now go on and continue with the wedding," Amber said.  
  
While they continued with the ceremony, Amber and Richie decided to shoot the breeze quietly so they wouldn't interrupt.  
  
"What happened to you?" Amber asked.  
  
"I don't know, it just felt like out of nowhere, some gorilla was beating me upside my head, and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor," Richie said, "you?"  
  
"Same...I just can't believe that they're actually going through with the wedding...I never thought they'd actually make it.  
  
"That makes 2 of us," Richie said.  
  
"You know...I don't know if you know this...and I'm pretty sure Amanda doesn't...but a few nights ago...he started thinking about the wedding and remembered he'd forgotten someone during this whole thing," Amber said.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Tessa...he was doing a lot of talking, probably to himself...but from what I heard, he kept thinking...if she would be watching the wedding from where she is...what'll she think...I guess he must've gotten an answer...about half an hour later, he was singing some cheerful Scotsman bit or something of the sort...I don't know if it's been going through his mind lately, but I'll bet she's watching...and I'll just bet that she's happy for him, I have a pretty good idea of where she is...and if so, she only sees the good in life anymore...so why she still bothers with this family is a real puzzle," Amber laughed, "but...I do think that she's happy for Duncan, he's finally met someone he can settle down with..."  
  
"Of course there ain't gonna be much settling down to do with us around," Richie said.  
  
It was after he said that Richie heard Methos say something about the rings, they had the rings on them, so Amber lifted up her dress and her slip and took Amanda's ring out of her garter, and Richie took Duncan's ring out of his pocket and handed them to them. Duncan placed the ring on Amanda's finger and muttered, "with this ring, I thee wed."  
  
"I'm surprised he got it out," Amber whispered to Richie.  
  
"Well then by the power vested in me by everything insane," Methos said, "I now pronounce you man and tramp...uh husband and harlot...man and wife! You may now kiss the bride..."  
  
"I'm surprised he got that out," Richie replied as they stood up.  
  
Amber headed over to the table where they put the rice, she grabbed two handfuls and started tossing it everywhere and yelling like a drunk...Richie went over to join her, a few seconds later, they were both shocked by a blinding white light, when they stopped seeing green and purple dots, they looked over and saw Joe had obviously been given the job as the wedding's photographer.  
  
"Figures, Methos got them married so he's blinding everyone for the ceremony," Amber muttered.  
  
"Hey, Amanda's about to throw the bouquet," Richie noticed.  
  
"So?"   
  
"So, it's a tradition that whoever catches it will be the next to marry..."  
  
"The tradition is usually held with more than one female guest, so this ain't exactly a normal tradition, if you think it's such a hoot, you catch it," Amber shoved Richie forward just as Amanda tossed her bouquet. He narrowly missed catching it in his teeth, but he caught it nevertheless, then he got an idea, he put the flowers in his teeth and went over to Amber.  
  
"What do you think?" he asked.  
  
"Try something with me, and you'll be wearing those petunias over your head," Amber said.  
  
"Hey you two!" Joe called, "look decent for the picture."  
  
The next thing they knew, they were both blinded again by a flash.  
  
"If he does that again," Amber said while she was still seeing dots, "I'm going to-"  
  
"Well you two," Methos walked between them, "I'd say considering you're practically good as dead, you did rather well today."  
  
"Thanks...we feel the same way," Amber said.  
  
It was then that something hit Amber, "Hey DUNCAN! Amanda! Now that you two are married, you can see what I got you for a wedding present."  
  
Amber took a white box with a gold bow out of inside Richie's jacket and handed it to Duncan, he put it down on the table and somewhat relunctanctly opened it.  
  
"The Kamma Sutra?" Duncan asked through his gritted teeth, not sure what to make of it.  
  
"Yeah, I just hope you can find a few positions you haven't tried yet," Amber replied.  
  
"I don't believe this," Duncan said.  
  
"I know, they have over 300 different positions listed in there," Amber said.  
  
"No no no, I mean I can't believe you actually purchased something like this," Duncan said.  
  
"I didn't, I planned to, but they wouldn't let me purchase it because of my age, so I asked Methos to get it," Amber said.  
  
"Well..." Amanda finally said, "thank you...I'm sure we'll find it to be very useful."  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
That night, Richie was in bed as Amber came out of the bathroom, "how do you feel?" he asked.  
  
"Like someone's about to kick my feet out from under me," she replied, "in other words, I'm fine...you?"  
  
"I guess I could say better...but not by much," Richie said.  
  
"I'm exhausted," Amber fell down on her bed.  
  
Richie resisted laughing but he couldn't help himself and broke out laughing like a hyena.  
  
"What?" Amber sat up.  
  
"I was just thinking how shocked Mac was when he saw your wedding present...the Kamma Sutra...and the look on his face, it was priceless! Where in the world did you think to get them something like that?" Richie asked.  
  
"Well let's face it, it's a book on a subject they both know and are very experienced with, and that's something that's usually at its highest peak during the honeymoon so...but when the sales person said I couldn't get it because I was too young, I dragged Methos down there with me, gave him the money and had him get it...that was about 3 weeks ago..."  
  
Amber looked over and saw Richie was asleep, and it wasn't long until she conked out too...  
  
An hour later, Richie got up, kicked off the covers, put on his boots, went over to Amber, made a few gestures as he stood over her, when she didn't move in response to them, he threw on his jacket, opened the window, climbed down to the grounds, pulled his motorcycle out of the garage and left. 


	4. Chapter 4

Amber got up and saw Richie wasn't in bed, and since she couldn't sense his presence anywhere, she did a little logical thinking and got too logical. So she went across the hall over to Methos' room and knocked on the door. When she didn't hear any response she tried again, Methos opened the door, pulled her in and shut the door.  
  
"What is it?" he asked, half asleep.  
  
"Is Richie here?" Amber asked.  
  
"What?!" Methos asked, not getting her question.  
  
"Richie ain't in my room and I can't find him anywhere...so I figured maybe he came over here," Amber said.  
  
"Amber are you an idiot or just plain stupid? If Richie were here you'd know," Methos said.  
  
"That's what I figured, so I thought I'd see if he came over and you killed him," Amber said.  
  
"Well as you can see, he isn't here," Methos said.  
  
"Well then where the heck can he be?" Amber asked.  
  
Methos thought for a minute before he realized the only logical place Richie would go.  
  
"Get your coat," he told her.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Methos parked his car outside of the bar and they got out, Amber looked around and the sign of the bar caught her attention.  
  
"The 'Graveyard Shift', what the hell is this?" she asked.  
  
"It's a bar where everybody goes and they don't leave until the sun is up when the rest of the town acts alive, now come on," Methos said.  
  
They went in the bar to find Richie, and in between the entrance and the drunk toehead, they had to make their way through half a dozen drunks who kept trying to grope them as they walked past them. Methos felt one drunk place his hand on his ass, so he turned around, punched the guy in the face and knocked him out.  
  
"Fag," he hissed.  
  
"There he is," Amber pointed.  
  
Methos looked ahead and saw Richie at a table with about 15 empty glasses and 7 broken bottles. He used a direct approach and stepped on a drunk's head to get over to the table. Then he remembered how crazy some people got when drunk, so he decied to see how much of the alcohol had taken effect in Richie's body.  
  
"Is this seat taken?" he asked on the other side of the table.  
  
"Na man, go ahead, Bernie left about half an hour ago," Richie grunted.  
  
Uh-huh, Methos had seen this before, this usually meant he had at least 3 marguritas, he picked up one glass that still had some liquor in it and took a whiff... vodka, so now he decided to see how many of those Richie had.  
  
"So...you come here often?" he asked.  
  
"Oh yeah...all...a...all the time, man," Richie said.  
  
Ah-ha, that meant about 7 shots of vodka, at that time, Amber came directly up to Richie.  
  
"But on another note," she said, "who's your warden?"  
  
Richie jumped up and punched Amber in the mouth, Methos got up and clubbed him over the head with his fists, Richie groaned and fell on the floor face first. He pulled his face off the floor and looked up to say something, but then the alcohol really took effect, and instead he lowered his head and threw up, Amber grew sick from the sight and did the same.  
  
Methos picked Richie up and hung him over his shoulder and went over to Amber, "he seems dead to the world at the moment, let's go."  
  
Amber got up and went with him out to the car, one he put Richie in the backseat, they jumped in and headed for home.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Richie....wake up..."  
  
Richie slowly opened his eyes and saw Duncan was looking down at him, "What is it?"  
  
"Methos told us what happened last night," Duncan said.  
  
"Wha....what did happen?" Richie asked.  
  
"Don't play dumb," Duncan warned him.  
  
"After 7 shots of vodka, 3 marguritas, and several bloody marys I don't think he could remember anything," Methos stepped in the room.  
  
"Man...I had that much to drink?" Richie asked.  
  
"So you do remember drinking," Duncan told him.  
  
"Well yeah...but I..."  
  
"What I don't understand is out of all the bars in Tampa, why the Graveyard Shift?" Methos asked, "they serve the cheapest alcohol made since bootlegging back in the 1920s."  
  
"I guess when you're looking to get drunk, you don't really care how badly the stuff was made," Richie said.  
  
"Methos, what are you doing in here anyway?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Incase you forgot, we have another patient in here," Methos said.  
  
Methos went over to Amber's side of the room and put a tray with a bowl of broth on the bed, "breakfast."  
  
"No thanks, I feel sick," Amber turned over.  
  
"Don't do that!"  
  
Methos grabbed Amber and flipped her on her back.  
  
"What the hell did you do that for?" Amber asked.  
  
"I already went through this with Richie...you lay on your side when you're sick and you'll be throwing up for the rest of the day," Methos told her.  
  
"Then I'll lie on my stomach! Either way the last thing I want is you nagging me for the rest of the morning," Amber rolled over on her stomach.  
  
"Typical patient," Methos said.  
  
Methos placed his hand on Amber's forehead, "a little warm, maybe you should consider an ice bath."  
  
"And what are you going to be doing? You gonna be the one giving it to me, Nurse?" Amber asked.  
  
"Richie I-" Duncan started.  
  
"Oh shutup, I'll deal with the boy," Methos said, "you're married now, you have a wife to tend to."  
  
Methos grabbed Duncan by his jacket and walked him towards the door.  
  
"But Methos I-"  
  
"Out!" Methos slammed the door in Duncan's face.  
  
With that, Methos went straight over to Richie's bed and pulled him up by his shirt, "You have quite the nerve pulling a dumbass stunt like that, you do realize that don't you Richie?"  
  
"Ga.......what're you doing to me, Methos?" he asked.  
  
"I'm trying to get your attention, what you did last night was stupid and beyond explanation," Methos let go of Richie's shirt and let him drop on the bed.  
  
"What I do?" Richie asked.  
  
"You went out and got drunk, acting like a miserable old man, on what was the happiest night of Duncan and Amanda's lives...it was a celebration Richie, you acted like it was a funeral, Richie, what in the hell were you thinking? Going out in the middle of the night to get drunk, only to forget what had happened, what the hell is the matter with you?" Amber asked.  
  
"I have my reasons for doing what I did," Richie said, "my life isn't exactly an open book."  
  
"Well open up," Methos grabbed him again, "something screwy is going on with you, and I intend to find out what it is before somebody gets killed around here!"  
  
Amber was alarmed by the noise and stood up on her bed and looked over at the fight, "hey Methos, don't you think you're overreacting?"  
  
"Hardly," Methos said, "if I find you as drunk as you were last night, I won't behead you, you'll just wish I had."  
  
Methos threw Richie down on the bed and left the room, Amber waited until he was downstairs to talk.  
  
"Well that was interesting," she said.  
  
"I can't believe Methos was flipping out like that because I got drunk, I've seen him drink hundreds of times," Richie said, "he's never acted like that before..."  
  
"What?" Amber asked, "this is new? Before we came around here to stay with you, I saw him do that several times...of course it wasn't as hardcore as he was with you."  
  
"What?" Richie asked.  
  
"Well, I mean I only saw him a few times before we came to see you and Duncan and Amanda, but when I did see him...he wasn't as crazy as that," Amber said.  
  
"This makes no sense at all, Methos hardly acts like he just did," Richie said.  
  
"What're you talking about?" Amber asked.  
  
"You've seen him around here, serene, calm, drunk, that's basically all there is to him," Richie said.  
  
"What I don't get is...why hasn't he taken Duncan's head? Nothing personal Richie, but I just figured to a 5,000 year old Immortal, a 400 year old petunia would be easy to kill," Amber said.  
  
"He never told you, did he?" Richie asked.  
  
"Tell me what?" Amber asked.  
  
"A few years ago when they met, there was this other Immortal named Kalas who was looking for Methos because he knew with his Quickening, he'd be able to beat Mac... Methos wasn't able to defeat Kalas and he knew it, so...he offered his head to Mac, but he refused and instead fought Kalas," Richie said.  
  
"How do you know that? You didn't even know him when they met," Amber said.  
  
"Mac told me," Richie replied.  
  
"You're lying, Richie," Amber said in disbelief.  
  
"No I'm not, Methos isn't what you know him as," Richie said.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Amber asked.  
  
"I mean that Methos isn't the ruthless brute you know him as, when he was in the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, maybe...but he's just not-"  
  
"What'd you say?" Amber asked.  
  
"Methos was in with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, his 'brother' is you wish to call him that, Kronos was trying to put them back together..."  
  
"And what happened?" Amber asked.  
  
"Mac killed him...Amber, doesn't it seem just a little bit strange that if he could've, Methos would've taken Mac's head but he hasn't?" Richie asked.  
  
Amber couldn't believe what Richie was telling her, she'd always known Methos as one of the most barbariac Immortals there was, and then to hear this...  
  
"Why should I believe what you're saying?" Amber asked.  
  
"How can you not?" Richie asked, "have I ever lied to you?"  
  
"Yes...which gives me plenty of reason to believe that you're lying to me now," Amber said.  
  
"What are you so worried about? If he is, he is, there's nothing wrong with it, it's just part of life," Richie said, "I was completely shocked when I first met him, but things changed as they usually do, and I got on with my life."  
  
"Maybe you did, but I've had the rug completely pulled out from under my life, I've known Methos to be this great man...adventerous, exciting, brutal, everything...and you tell me THIS! I can't believe it," Amber fell down in the bed.  
  
Richie heard the weight of her body suddenly fall on the bed and he sat up and looked over at her, "you okay, kid?"  
  
"I feel like I just got hit by a freight train...wish I had, too," Amber mumbled.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"I can't believe what Richie did...last night was supposed to be a celebration, he acted as if it was a funeral, I don't get it," Amanda said.  
  
"Actually, he acted like the mother-in-law moved in," Duncan said.  
  
Amanda turned around and stared at Duncan, "how would you know?"  
  
"The same way any man knows," Joe said, "from experience!"  
  
"Well how is he?" Amanda asked Methos as he entered the living room.  
  
"Fine for the moment...I think the worst of the hangover's past him," Methos said.  
  
"Methos, were you ever a psychiatrist?" Amanda asked, hoping for a helpful answer.  
  
"Are you kidding?" Methos asked, "Of course I was...why do you need to know?"  
  
"Do you have any idea why Richie did what he did in the first place?" Amanda asked.  
  
"No...but if you're suggesting I run some tests on him and see if he proves mental, it won't work, he'd fail any test rendering him as psychotic," Methos said.  
  
"Well then why would he-"  
  
"Amanda, I don't know, yes he's a grown man and therefore can do as he pleases...but what he did last night was inexcusable, stupid and rather quite juvenile..."  
  
"Gee, I wonder where he gets it from," Duncan sarcastically said.  
  
"Very funny, MacLeod, not even I drink that much in one night...at least not in a bar...if I want to drown myself in alcohol like that, I do it at home, where I can enjoy it without getting a dozen odd looks," Methos said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Methos went and made the nightly check on Richie and Amber, since they got sick, he'd been their nursemaid, now that they were able to act somewhat alive, he just routinely checked on them.  
  
"So, how's the drunk?" Methos laughed.  
  
"Oh....fine for the moment, what're Mac and Amanda and you planning for my execution?" Richie asked.  
  
"Nothing," Methos replied.  
  
"What?" Richie sat up.  
  
"Well, after looking at the facts, they've come to realize that they are in no position to punish you, and considering that's the only stupid thing you did the other night and no one got killed...then there's really no reason to carry on about it," Methos said.  
  
"Great, that's one less thing off my mind," Richie said as he turned over, "one thing though, why were you acting like a nuclear bomb earlier? I mean, you were what I'd considered 2 steps away from downright crazy!"  
  
"Personal experience tends to build up that reaction in some people...but that's a story for another time...I'll tell you when you're.....75..."  
  
Methos went over to Amber's side of the room and to the side of her bed, "what about you? How are you?"  
  
Amber didn't reply, she was already turned over on her stomach and asleep with the sheets thrown up to the back of her neck. Methos left the room and closed the door, Richie turned back over onto his back and went to sleep as well. What neither he nor Methos had noticed before was that Amber had only seemd to be asleep, she opened her eyes and looked around the room while she held both hands over her mouth to muffle her crying. The entire day had been an emotional rollercoaster for her, she didn't know what to do or whom to believe. She couldn't believe what Richie had told her about Methos, she had always known him to be a great, ruthless, bloodthirsty person, not the sensative weakling Richie made him out to be. Either way she didn't know what to believe, all she did was lay still and cry until she finally fell asleep.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
The next day, Methos went to check on them as part of his morning routine, Amber was still asleep, but Richie was in the bathroom hacking up a storm.  
  
"Eat something that disagreed with you or just have something rammed down your throat?" Methos asked.  
  
"Neither, it's phlem, all phlem, I'm pratically drowning in this stuff," Richie said.  
  
"Well look on the bright side," Methos said, "2 weeks at the most you should be over it."  
  
"2 weeks?" Richie turned around.  
  
"At the worst yes, best case would be about another week," Methos replied.  
  
"I don't get it, how'd we get sick in the first place?" Richie asked.  
  
"I don't know, I'm 5,000 years old, I've studied medicine for hundreds of years, and I don't know...this has never happened before as far as I know," Methos told him.  
  
"Well, personally, I don't feel like going anywhere today, that includes downstairs," Richie said as he jumped back into bed.  
  
"That's just fine with me, I couldn't care less either way," Methos said, "do you need anything?"  
  
"No...I'm fine," Richie said.  
  
Methos went over to Amber who was still asleep, he checked his watch and saw it was unusual for her to sleep this long, sick or not, he shook her to wake her up.  
  
"Hey kid," he said as he shook her, "hey!"  
  
Amber finally got up, turned over and looked at him.  
  
"And how's this patient today?" Methos asked Richie.  
  
"Well I-"  
  
Amber stopped when she realized she was hardly able to speak, she had plenty to say, but she couldn't get it above a cracked whisper.  
  
"What was that?" Methos asked.  
  
"I said I---" Amber realized no matter what she did, she wasn't able to get her voice loud enough to be heard.  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Richie asked.  
  
"Off top of my head, I'd say the laryngitis kicked in, isn't that right kid?" Methos asked.  
  
Amber tried again, but when she couldn't say anything higher than a low whisper, she got frustrated, tried screaming and when that failed, she got upset and started trying to whine.  
  
"I get the point," Methos said, "I'll bring you up some hot tea, that'll get your voice back..."  
  
Amber shook her head and mouthed the word 'no' as he left the room, she grabbed her notebook, scribbled something in it and passed a crumbled note to Richie, he unfolded it, it read 'I HATE tea'.  
  
"Well, do you want your voice back or not?" Richie asked.  
  
Amber's pupils rolled to the top of her eyes, looking over her head at the ceiling, thinking about it.  
  
A few minutes later, Methos came back up with a small tray and a steaming cup of tea, Amber took a sip of it and immediately spit it out.  
  
"That's awful, it's horrible! I can't believe I actually drank that stuff! I have no idea why I'm suddenly talking again...Methos, what the hell is this?"  
  
"Just tea...obviously you don't drink it enough to know," Methos said.  
  
"You got that right! This stuff's awful...take it away! I think I'm going to be sick!" Amber said.  
  
"You're going to be just fine, just shutup and go back to sleep," Methos said as he picked up the tray.  
  
"Sounds like a good idea, I'm exhausted," Amber said as she laid back down.  
  
This worried Richie, even sick he knew Amber as very energetic, he looked back over at her, "you okay kid?"  
  
"I'm fine Richie, I'm just tired...now leave me alone," Amber answered groggily.  
  
Still, Richie had a feeling that something was wrong with her, he just didn't know what.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Duncan, I don't believe you," Amanda said.  
  
"Well what is there to worry about?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Duncan, we can't go on our honeymoon with them still sick," Amanda reminded him.  
  
"They're not terminally ill for crying out loud, besides, Methos can keep an eye on them, he's done a pretty good job so far, wouldn't you agree?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Duncan...of course I do, but I just don't feel right about leaving them alone here with no one except Methos to take care of them...knowing our luck, by the time we got back, they'd all be running around in bedsheets with wreaths of crab grass in their hair trying to acupuncture one another," Amanda said.  
  
"You make it sound as if Methos is as bad as they are," Duncan said.  
  
"Well isn't he?" Amanda asked him.  
  
"Yes he is, but I've never expected YOU of all people to point it out," Duncan said.  
  
"What about Joe? Surely we can't leave Methos alone with him in the house, they'd probably try and kill each other...and knowing Joe, he'd probably shove his cane in one of Methos' ears and out through the other," Amanda said.  
  
"Look, we're apparently not going to get any peace on our honeymoon, so...we'll just have to have it here," Duncan decidd.  
  
"Are you serious?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Yes...I can fix up our bedroom, it'll be just like a hotel Suite except we won't have to worry about the maid...unless Methos has the paperwork to cover that too." Duncan explained.  
  
"I suppose if we can't have peace and quiet in the Bahamas, our bedroom will be just as well," Amanda said.  
  
"Besides, it's our own private business, so no one should wonder if we don't leave our room for a week," Duncan said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Hey Methos!" Richie screamed as he came running down the stairs.  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
"I think there's something wrong with Amber, she's-"  
  
"I know, she's hemmoraging, Amanda told me already," Methos replied.  
  
"No! Not that, didn't you notice anything strange about her earlier today?" Richie asked.  
  
"Let's see...she slept in til 9, couldn't talk, was complaining about the tea...nope, nothing I can think of, should I have?" Methos asked.  
  
"Well I think there's something wrong with her," Richie said.  
  
"Of course you do, you're a man, she's a woman, men always think there's something wrong with women, why do you think they're so eager to get away from their wives? When they openly discuss it with them, the women beat them over the head with a rolling pin," Methos said.  
  
"Methos!" Richie said.  
  
"Allright, allright, I'll talk to her and see if I can find out what her problem is if one exists at all," Methos replied.  
  
"Well I wouldn't do that right at the moment," Richie said, "she's asleep, I tried waking her and she bit me."  
  
"So?" Methos asked.  
  
Richie held up the front of his hand, there were bloody bite marks all over it.  
  
"Looks like a doberman got you, allright, I'll let the brat sleep," Methos said, "I'll talk to her tonight and see if I can find out why you think there's something wrong with her...but I'm sure it's just fatigue from being sick...but if you insist."  
  
"I do."  
  
Methos agreed to look over Amber that night, but he was positive there wasn't anything to worry about. 


	5. Chapter 5

Amanda went into the bedroom, not quite sure what to expect, when she opened the door, she saw the bedroom was lit by long red taper scented candles, she also noticed the regular white sheets on the bed had been replaced by red satin sheets, with a few heart shaped pillows thrown on top as well. She went over to her dresser and saw a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice on a tray with 2 wine glasses, next to the tray were a few bottles of massage oils. While she waited for Duncan to show up, she plopped down on the bed and found a set of handcuffs at every corner near the bedposts.  
  
"Candles, oils, wine, handcuffs, satin sheets, the only thing missing is mirrors on the ceiling," Amanda noticed as she looked up.  
  
The bathroom door swung open and Duncan came out wearing a towel wrapped tightly around his waist, "why do it all at once? I'm saving that for when we renew our vows in five years," he said.  
  
"How long have you been waiting around?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Long enough," Duncan said as he grabbed the side of his towel.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
20 minutes later, Methos passed by Duncan and Amanda's room from the hallway and heard loud screams and screeches and moans, so he knocked on the door and said, "hey you two, knock it off! I realize this is your honeymoon, but the kids are trying to sleep!"  
  
Methos rolled up his sleeve and checked the time, 9 o' clock, Richie came out of the bedroom and Methos went in to see Amber, who seemed to be awake at the minute.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Amber asked.  
  
"Richie's worried about you," Methos replied, "are you feeling allright?"  
  
"Fine, I'm fine, I'm okay, don't worry about me," Amber said as she turned over.  
  
"That's what I told him, but he insists there's something wrong with you," Methos said.  
  
"There is...I'm living here, isn't that enough to worry about? Now get out of here and leave me alone!" Amber said.  
  
Methos saw no problem with Amber other than she seemed tired and short-tempered, he shut off the lights and left the room.  
  
"Well, what's wrong with her?" Richie asked.  
  
"I'd say there's nothing wrong with her other than she's tired...I say just let her rest," Methos said.  
  
"Methos, are you serious? I mean sure she's tired and she's liable to snap your neck if you get her mad, but that's usually what she does on a regular basis," Richie said, "I think there's something seriously wrong with her, maybe beyond a physical problem."  
  
"I think YOU'RE beyond a physical problem, good evening," Methos said as he went into his room and slammed the door in Richie's face.  
  
Methos put his ear to the door and listened as Richie walked over to the stairs and went down to the living room.  
  
"Poor kid...I like him, but when he starts thinking his friend's gone mental around here...well...he's not quite playing with a whole set of pinballs if I do say so myself," Methos said.  
  
Over in Richie and Amber's room, Amber threw the sheets off, sat up, looked around, got up, threw on her jacket, opened the window and started to climb out.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Methos..........Methos.........Methos wake up!"  
  
Methos shot up in bed drawing in a winded breath and screaming when he saw Duncan.  
  
"What's the matter?" Duncan asked.  
  
"I just had the worst nightmare imaginable," Methos said, "I dreamt I lost my head and wound up in Heaven."  
  
"What's so bad about that? If anything, it'd be a miracle," Duncan told him.  
  
"It'd be a miracle if I was alone...the nightmare was who was there with me...YOU were there too! I was stuck with you for an eternity! Now if that isn't a nightmare, I don't know what is!" Methos said.  
  
Duncan rolled his eyes and managed to set a serious look on his face, and Methos was vexed by it.  
  
"What?" Methos asked.  
  
"Turn around, and take a look," Duncan told him.  
  
Methos slowly turned around and jumped when he saw Amber's body in the bed next to him. He could only sense Duncan in the room, so he knew she was currently dead.  
  
"What the--------------how---------" was all he managed to say.  
  
"Take a look," Duncan said.  
  
Methos pulled down the sheets and saw that Amber's arms had been deeply cut into, there was dried blood on her arms, her clothes, and the side of the bed she had been in.  
  
"My God," he finally managed to say, "what happened to her?"  
  
"Went out...got into a fight last night...someone cut her up, and apparently she came back here and wanted to be with you when she died," Duncan said.  
  
"What time was it...when she got back?" Methos asked.  
  
"About 2 o' clock," Duncan said.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Methos asked.  
  
"Because I just found out about the fight from the officer half an hour ago," Duncan told him.  
  
"What time is it?" Methos asked.  
  
"3:15," Duncan said.  
  
"Oh my God...I don't believe this," Methos said.  
  
"Quite frankly, neither can I," Duncan said.  
  
Now Methos felt about as helpless as ever, didn't know what to do, he couldn't believe Amber would come back in a bloody mess like that and not even tell anyone...now he knew Richie was right, there was something wrong with her, and he had to find out before she lost her head the next go around.  
  
"Methos," Duncan said.  
  
"Duncan, please leave...I need to be here when she revives, I need to find out what's wrong with her so I can help her," Methos told him.  
  
Duncan did as Methos asked and left the room, Methos looked at Amber's arms to see how far into they'd been cut so he could estimate about how long it'd take for her to revive.  
  
He guessed it would be an hour at most, that would give him some time to think, he didn't know how this could've happened. And to make matters worse, he didn't know how to help Amber. The first thing he had to do was get to the root of the problem so he could help her.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Amber woke up gasping for air, Methos turned around as soon as the Immortal presence hit him, now was the time to bite the bullet.  
  
"Amber, what happened?" he asked.  
  
"When?"   
  
"Around the time you got hacked up and came back here to bleed to death," Methos said.  
  
"Oh...I went out for a while, got into a fight with a couple of gang members...one of them took out his switchblade and the rest is history."  
  
"Why didn't you tell anyone what happened?" Methos asked.  
  
"Methos, I've been sick for almost a week, do you really think if I told them I was going out they would've let me?" Amber asked.  
  
"I don't mean that....when you came back, why didn't you tell anyone what had happened to you?" Methos asked.  
  
"I don't believe this! You're sounding like a parent and a dumb one at that...I'm 16, I'm sick, I'm stubborn, I'm bleeding to death, I ain't gonna tell anyone, I'd rather take my chances with the Grim Reaper than with one of you lecturing me for six hours about the consequences suffered if you don't say anything," Amber said.  
  
"What were you doing in my bed?" Methos asked.  
  
"I wanted to be near someone when I died, and I wanted it to be you," Amber told him.  
  
"Why didn't you say anything when you came in here?" Methos said.  
  
"Because I figured if I was going to go and just come back, I didn't want anyone even thinking about me...it's as easy as that...for once, I'd like to die and be able to come back without my last memory of life being someone upset because of me...is that too much to ask?" Amber asked.  
  
"Amber, this problem goes beyond the fight," Methos said, "Richie told me earlier that there was something wrong with you but I didn't think he was serious...but now I'm seeing that there is a problem...what I need to know is what's wrong with you."  
  
Methos noticed Amber was avoiding making eye contact with him, she held her head low, slightly above the pillow, he sat down on the other side of the bed and brought her head up with his hand and forced her to look at him.  
  
"I want to help you, Amber...but to do that, you have to tell me what's wrong," he told her.  
  
"I can't do that," Amber said.  
  
"Why not?"   
  
"Because it involves you," Amber said.  
  
"What is it?" Methos asked.  
  
"I told you I can't say," Amber said.  
  
"Give me a break, I'm 5,000 years old, there's hardly a thing I haven't heard about myself, so what is it?"  
  
"Methos...when I first met you, I saw you as this bloodthirsty, brutal, adventureous, cut-throat Immortal," Amber said.  
  
"Flattery will get you everywhere, kid," Methos said, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
"Methos....I...." there was a long silence as she tried to say something, "..............who's Kalas?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said who was Kalas?" Amber stood on the bed and look him straight in the eye as he got up.  
  
"Kalas? He was another Immortal who-"  
  
"Who you couldn't defeat, why? How could he be so powerful that you couldn't kill him?" Amber asked.  
  
"That is a long story, but in short, he almost took my head and I wasn't able to defeat him," Methos explained.  
  
"So you offered your head to Duncan...I can't believe this! You, a 5,000 year old Immortal, surrendering to a 400 year old Scotsman? I don't believe this," Amber said.  
  
"I don---------if you had been there when both Kalas and MacLeod were looking for me, you'd see it's not as simple as you make it out to be," Methos told her.  
  
"I'm just having a little trouble trying to figure out how you, who have always seemed like a cold, merciless murderer, could actually be-----------THIS!" Amber said.  
  
"Basically you're in shock to find that I'm not as bloody as I always seem?" Methos asked.  
  
"Yes," Amber said, "you were the first Immortal I really knew since Mario, pain in the neck and all that, was exactly how I remembered you and exactly why I liked you...I can't imagine you being.....I don't even know how to describe this!" Amber said.  
  
"Hold it," Methos grabbed Amber and tried to restrain her from doing anything drastic, "calm down before a blood vein explodes...look...I don't know where you got this idea from..."  
  
"Richie," Amber quickly answered.  
  
"But I'm not exactly as vulnerable as he makes me out to be," Methos said, ignoring Amber's hurried response.  
  
"I don't think you're vulnerable, I just don't think you're as ruthless as I first figured...that's where it hurts!" Amber said.  
  
"Oh boy," Methos laughed, "I don't know what to say other than...there's nothing wrong or different with me...I'm the exact same person you met 4 years ago...the only difference is now you know me about as well as I know myself, if not better..."  
  
"But I-"  
  
"Look, I assure there there's nothing wrong with me," Methos told her.  
  
"I know...it's just...I always saw you as being the bloodthirsty, crazy, homicidal person you were...and I respected that...it's how I learned to be...and then when I heard about the other side to you...I just-"  
  
"What you're seeing is the basic two sides to me as there is to any man...it's all normal, there's the side of which Richie described, then there's the side that involves beheadings, drinking, running around in bedsheets and crab grass, and all that other good Samaritan stuff... especially since what I do gets on Duncan's last nerve..."  
  
Methos realized Amber had fallen asleep in his arms, he had to laugh at himself, even when he wasn't trying, he could talk people to sleep, he laid Amber down on his side of the bed where it wasn't bloody, and pulled the sheets up. Then he went over to his closet, pulled out a spare pillow and laid down on the couch and dozed off himself.  
  
The next thing, it was morning, Amber woke up to see Methos getting dressed right outside his closet.  
  
"How in the world do you sit down?" Amber asked.  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Methos turned around.  
  
"Well from the look of it, you don't have any butt to sit on," Amber said.  
  
Methos turned his head to try and see what she was saying, then it hit him he already had his jeans on.  
  
"You little pervert," Methos spat.  
  
"So I am, so what?" Amber asked.  
  
"I'm taking it this meant you slept well last night," Methos said.  
  
"Yeah, after you started in on being a good Samaritan and all that stuff...where's Richie? I don't recall seeing him last night," Amber said.  
  
"You wouldn't, he just got back 2 hours ago himself," Methos said.  
  
"What time is it?" Amber asked.  
  
"7 o' clock," Methos answered, "so how are you?"  
  
"Well I......apparently, excpet for being winded and full of sinus, I feel like I'm back to my old self again," Amber said.  
  
"Well, perhaps this means you'll be going drinking with Richie tonight?" Methos laughed.  
  
"Heck no, I'm staying put, until I can be sure I ain't gonna fall down in the middle of anyplace, I'm staying here where I know where everything is...that way, I don't have to worry about falling on a drunk who belongs in a place like the Blue Oyster Bar...well....see you later."  
  
"Where're you going?" Methos asked.  
  
"I'm going to shorten the leg on Joe's walker so it'll wobble, for some reason, that gag never gets old," Amber said.  
  
"Good to have you back, kid," Methos said.  
  
"Good to be back too...Well...see you later, I've got mayhem to cause."  
  
"Me too," Methos replied.  
  
After Amber left, Methos went back to his closet and pulled out something on a hanger covered by a bag.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Duncan and Amanda had gone through a long night of making love, and were at it again, perhaps it was lucky they were covered by the sheets when the door flew open.  
  
"What the hell?" Duncan turned around.  
  
"Don't mind me," Methos said, "I'm just the maid around here."  
  
"I was right, you DO have the paperwork to cover that!" Duncan said.  
  
"And the dress," Amanda added.  
  
Methos was wearing a skimpy black French maid's outfit with a short white apron.   
  
"Methos!" Duncan complained, "What in the hell is the meaning of this?"  
  
"Consider it my wedding present," Methos grinned as he dusted the furniture.  
  
Suddenly, a heavy breeze blew in the open window, blowing up Methos' skirt, revealing his tight, pale butt. Amanda screamed in shock and covered her eyes, Duncan was just disgusted.  
  
"METHOS!" he repeated.  
  
"What?" Methos turned around, "Duncan...I may occasionaly crossdress, and I may take into consideration dating men once in a while...but I absolutely REFUSE to wear the silk panties that came with this outfit!"  
  
"I don't believe this," Duncan said.  
  
"Neither can I...this is our honeymoon, a romantic, private sexual escapade between two people," Amanda said.  
  
"It may be romantic, and between two people, and undoubtedly sexual, but it sure as hell ain't private...everybody in this house can hear you, thank God they can't see what you're doing...although, with all your screaming and moaning and shrieking, it leaves very little to the imagination," Methos said, "although I'm guessing it means that the Kama Sutra has proven to be very useful."  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Richie checked the clock, 11:55 PM, he threw on his jacket and headed over to the window when Amber came out of the bathroom, "going somewhere, Romeo?"  
  
Richie slowly turned around with almost a sinister grin on his face, but it just meant that he was anxious to get out of there, "actually.....yes."  
  
"Drinking again...." Amber assumed.  
  
"How'd you know?" Richie asked.  
  
"Consider me your mother, I always know, I know everything you say, everything you do, even before you do it," Amber said as she straightened his collar.  
  
"That sounds an awful lot like Someone Else," Richie replied, "are you coming?"  
  
"Thanks but no thanks," Amber said as she plopped down on the bed, "I'm staying here...the last time I went to a bar, I wound up dead by 3 in the morning...I went out to try and see why you're so interested in going out drinking every night, and instead got hacked up by some punk with a blonde mohawk and a trenchcoat...scared the hell out of the cops when I got up though...maybe another time."  
  
"Fine with me," Richie said as he started out the window.  
  
Amber went over to the window and saw Richie drive down the road, then she picked a pen up off the table and put an X on the date on the calendar. This marked the third time Richie had gone out to drink after the regular hours...maybe it was normal, and maybe it'd become routine, but she figured something was up.  
  
"One of these days, he'll slip up again, and when he does, I'll be waiting for him," she said to herself.  
  
Richie could play his cards and act like everything was smooth as silk for a while, but eventually, he'd slip up again, and that would be right where Amber would step in, and take action. Richie did well by himself, but sometimes 


End file.
